Win over Raiders puts Dartmouth in tourney

By BILL HALL

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southcoasttoday.com

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Posted Feb. 27, 2013 at 12:07 PM

Posted Feb. 27, 2013 at 12:07 PM

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By BILL HALL

Associate Editor

NEW BEDFORD — Dartmouth High School's hockey team earned a spot in the post-season tournament with a 7-2 win over Somerset Berkley Regional last Thursday morning at the Hetland Rink. The Indians and the Raiders each needed the win to finish at .500 and get a tourney position. SB had beaten the Indians 3-1 in their first meeting.

The first line for DHS was outstanding. Joe Correia had two goals and two assists while Joey Gomes added a goal and three assists, and Nick Cardoso added a goal and an assist, as the Indians put the pressure on Raider goalie Zach Raposa throughout the game. The Indians out-shot the Raiders 47-21 in the game that saw Somerset take a 2-0 lead in the first period.

"Even when we were in a 2-0 hole, we thought we had momentum," said DHS Coach Mike Cappello following the game. "I thought our forechecking was excellent and created scoring opportunities."

The Raiders scored first at the 10:39 mark of the first period when Logan Santos connected on a pass from Cole Stafford. They added another goal at 9:04 when Mitch Paiva put one in from Mike Quinn.

However, the Indians had been knocking on the door, and the Raider goalie had to make some outstanding saves, including one on Dan Bolton, who took a nice feed from Andrew Santos in front of the net and threatened to score.

The Indians struck at 7:58 of the first period when Garrett Silvia connected on a pass from Gomes.

The first period ended with Somerset Berkley holding a 2-1 edge, but things were going to change in the second period.

Correia tied the game at the 10:12 mark on a feed from Evan McCarthy, who picked up the first of his two assists.

The Indians had another golden opportunity when Gomes took a point-blank shot, but Raposa was up to the task. Three second later, Correia scored again at 6:38 with Nick Cardoso and Gomes assisting.

The Indians made it 4-2 with 5:18 left when Owen Sylvia scored from Correia, and Dartmouth took a 4-2 lead into the locker room at the end of the second period.

It was also notable that the first penalty in the game did not come until 27 seconds were left in the second period.

The first six minutes of the third period saw up-and-down action as both teams sought a tournament spot. Raposa made some outstanding saves, particularly on Correia and Gomes, who kept the pressure on the Raider end of the ice.

Andrew Santos widened the lead on a goal at 8:11 of the third with Gomes assisting. Cardoso then scored from McCarthy just 15 seconds later.

With 5:07 left, the Indians added the final goal when Gomes redirected a shot from the point by Correia.

"This was like a tournament game; we had identical records coming into the game, and the winner goes on," said Coach Cappello. His team finished the regular season at 8-8-4 after winning its last two games.

"I thought the first line played great, with Correia, Gomes and Cardoso, and our defense stepped up with Evan McCarthy, Ryan Gaydou, Corey Arruda and Nick Bach," the coach added.